Henry David Thoreau lurks in English lit syllabi like a formidable giant, one to be emulated, revered, or perhaps even ridiculed. In Followed by the Lark, Helen Humphreys (And a Dog Called Fig) humanizes this great man through a series of vignettes starting when Thoreau is five years old and first sees Walden, which was "the first pond he'd ever known, so it might as well have been the wild ocean."
Humphreys, drawing upon Thoreau's extensive journals, crafts a novel of his life, showing the hurts, isolations, and uncertainties behind the spirit of awe that has inspired so many to attempt to live simply and deliberately. By gathering brief scenes into sections grouped chronologically, Humphreys escorts readers from the early years, including when Thoreau befriends Charles Wheeler and meets the influential Ralph Waldo Emerson, and through the season colored by the untimely deaths of both Thoreau's brother, John, and Charles. These losses inspire him to build his house on Walden Pond and to stay true to his belief that all life, no matter how small, is sacred. To him, "a detail was never impersonal--whether remembered or recorded. Paying attention was a kind of devotion, and he didn't need to write the words Love or Grief to prove his tenderness."
Humphreys's novel is full of these small details, reflecting Thoreau's commitment to observation. Those already familiar with Thoreau's life; fans of Robin Wall Kimmerer or Mary Oliver; and anyone who agrees with Thoreau that "[w]ondering didn't always need an answer" will all appreciate Followed by the Lark. --Sara Beth West, freelance reviewer and librarian